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Brantford-Brant

Time ticking on Costco

The province is concerned about traffic problems that may arise if a Costco is built on land at Wayne Gretzky Parkway and Morton Avenue, adjacent to a Highway 403 interchange. (Brian Thompson/The Expositor)

Time is ticking on a proposed Costco development for Brantford, city councillors were warned this week.

"Time is the enemy," Ira Kagan of Kagan Shastri LLP, representing the developers of the project, told councillors who were considering a report detailing traffic concerns with the proposal to build the retail warehouse on a 6.7-hectare parcel of land at 8-10 Craig St.

"Costco is not going to wait long. This is the only place in Brantford they want to go to," he said.

"You may not like it, but that's their right."

The property, once the home of Nu-Gro Ltd., is bounded by Craig Street to the southwest, Morton Avenue to the south, the Wayne Gretzky Parkway to the east and Highway 403 to the north. It was purchased by Toronto's Rice Commercial Group, which is looking to develop the site for Costco.

At issue are concerns raised by the Ministry of Transportation about the effect increased traffic from the Costco will have on the 403 interchange at the Gretzky parkway.

A staff report prepared to give councillors an update on the project said that the ministry has not accepted a traffic impact study and does not support the development application at this time. The bill for infrastructure improvements to the parkway is estimated at $30 million.

"If the application is approved, development will not be permitted to commence until such time as a traffic impact study has been accepted by the ministry and all necessary highway improvements are constructed at the full cost to the owner of the lands," the staff report said.

The Rice Group is seeking amendments to the city's official plan and zoning bylaw that would permit construction of the Costco, a gas bar and two other buildings.

"Costco is the world's second largest retailer, and it is expanding as a brick and mortar store at a time when Internet shopping is on the rise," said Kagan.

A public hearing on the application is set for March 6.

But councillors this week heard from residents urging them to try to solve issues facing the development.

"This development and the 250-plus jobs it will bring cannot be lost," said Paul LeBlanc, owner and manager of a commercial building on Morton Avenue across from where the new Costco wants to go.

"I'm tired of people and businesses leaving our city and going down the road."

LeBlanc was one of a number of delegations at this week's meeting.

He said he is a strong supporter of the project.

"We pay an unbelievable amount of taxes in this city,"' he said.

"At the end of the day, if the infrastructure has to be built and it's expensive, so be it. This is too important to lose."

Coun. Dan McCreary said in an interview that he is "extremely frustrated" at the delays with the project, which was first brought to councillors in 2016.

"We heard from the proponent that they have dealt with these issues in other cities where they have gone," he said.

"I believe the majority of council supports this," McCreary said.

"We need to get on with it."

The Costco project is "probably the most talked about development that ever happened in the City of Brantford," he said.

"We can't begin making excuses for failure now. We just can't let this slip through our fingers."